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LSU defeated Ole Miss 29-26 in overtime on Saturday night in Death Valley.
It was a remarkable comeback for the Tigers, who never led in this game until the very last play. Garrett Nussmeier found Kyren Lacy in the end zone in overtime to secure the win for LSU.
Here are 3 takeaways from this result:
Garrett Nussmeier was struggling … until he wasn’t
For most of the night, it was not a good performance for LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. He completed just 22–of-51 passes on the night for 337 yards, 3 touchdown and 2 interceptions. It was easily Nussmeier’s worst game of the season from an efficiency standpoint.
A lot of the credit for Nussmeier’s struggles should go to the Ole Miss secondary. Defensive backs Jadon Canady (4) and Trey Amos (3) combined for 7 of the 10 pass breakups that Ole Miss was credited with on Saturday night.
Nussmeier saved his best work for the final drive of the game. With LSU trailing 23-16 in the final couple of minutes, he converted a 4th and 10 to extend the drive early on. Later in the drive, he found Mason Taylor for a key 19-yard gain on 3rd and 10. Then, with just 23 seconds remaining, Nussmeier found Aaron Anderson for a game-tying 23-yard touchdown on 4th down.
Then, in overtime, Nussmeier found Lacy in the end zone to secure the win for his third and final touchdown pass of the game.
A tale of 2 halves for Ole Miss
The Ole Miss offense was humming in the first half to the tune of 7.1 yards per play. It resulted in a significant lead for the Rebels on the road — and a 17-point second quarter.
However, LSU’s defense figured some things out after halftime. The Rebels averaged just 4.2 yards per play after the break. That also showed up in overtime as Ole Miss failed to get anything going in that period. It was forced to attempt a long field goal in OT, which ultimately allowed LSU to win the game on the next possession.
Ole Miss’ issues especially showed up in the run game as the Rebels were unable to salt the game away even as they had a lead for most of this contest. Ole Miss averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in the second half. Quarterback Jaxson Dart was also sacked 6 times — 4 of which came after halftime — in the loss.
CFP implications
This is a result that will surely have College Football implications all the way through November.
For Ole Miss, this is a devastating loss. The Rebels now have 2 defeats on the year and their College Football Playoff hopes are on the brink going into Week 8. At 10-2, Ole Miss could still be a candidate given its strong strength of schedule. But it means that Rebels’ margin for error is all but gone. Ole Miss still has games remaining against Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi State.
For LSU, the Tigers are now in a great spot to potentially make a run at the CFP. They’ve won 5 in a row, which is tied for the biggest win streak of the Brian Kelly era in Baton Rouge. This is LSU’s first ranked win of the year, but there are opportunities remaining on the schedule to add to this résumé. LSU still has games against Arkansas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
